RCS Shortlisted for Two Construction News Specialists Awards 2026

RCS has been shortlisted in two categories at the Construction News Specialists Awards 2026: Concrete Specialist of the Year and Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor.

The dual shortlisting recognises RCS’s growing role at the forefront of the UK’s response to Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), which includes its delivery of complex, evidence-led remediation projects that are helping reshape how RAAC is assessed and managed across the built environment.

The shortlistings follow a period of significant growth for the business, during which RCS has expanded its specialist team, increased the scope of its project delivery across the UK, Europe and North America and continued to invest heavily in RAAC research, testing and innovation.

Concrete Specialist of the Year

RCS has been shortlisted for Concrete Specialist of the Year in recognition of its specialist expertise in the investigation, assessment and remediation of complex RAAC concrete structures.

Over the past year, the company has developed and deployed across a wide range of settings its proprietary RAAC Options Appraisal methodology - an evidence-led approach designed to help clients make proportionate, engineering-based decisions on remediation strategies.

In many cases, this has enabled organisations to avoid unnecessary roof replacement or demolition, significantly reducing cost, operational disruption, and embodied carbon.

Central to RCS’s approach is its investment in research and testing. In collaboration with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Loughborough University, RCS has been involved in major testing programmes examining the structural behaviour of RAAC panels under varying conditions.

The findings are contributing to wider industry understanding of RAAC performance and helping inform future guidance on assessment and remediation.

RCS combines specialist engineering expertise with practical delivery capability, providing end-to-end support from investigation and intrusive surveys through to remediation implementation and ongoing monitoring.

Recent projects have included complex live operational environments across infrastructure, manufacturing, education and public sector estates, where maintaining business continuity has been critical.

Examples include:

• A major airport remediation project delivered while maintaining full passenger operations
• A 60,000 sq ft manufacturing facility remediated with zero operational downtime
• A major theatre project where a £12m roof replacement and year-long closure were avoided through a targeted remediation strategy

By replacing assumptions with engineering evidence and an understanding of RAAC behaviour, RCS is helping clients deliver safer, sustainable and cost-effective outcomes for buildings affected by RAAC.

Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor: Remediation at Landmark Civic Building

RCS has also been shortlisted for Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor for its work at Medway Council’s Gun Wharf headquarters in Chatham, Kent.

The Grade II-listed civic building - originally designed by ARUP for Lloyds of London in the 1970s - contains a highly unusual, pitched roof structure formed from trapezoidal RAAC panels beneath a tiled roof envelope.

When widespread RAAC was discovered within the structure, initial estimates suggested that full roof replacement could cost £20m.

Rather than defaulting to wholesale replacement, Medway Council appointed RCS to investigate whether the building could be safely retained through a more proportionate solution.

RCS developed a temporary mitigation strategy that enabled key parts of the building, including court facilities, to reopen while a detailed structural investigation was undertaken.

The company then led an extensive programme of intrusive investigation, structural modelling and destructive testing in collaboration with BRE and Loughborough University.

Thirty full RAAC panels were removed from the building and subjected to laboratory testing to better understand load capacity, flexural strength, and structural behaviour.

The findings challenged prevailing assumptions surrounding RAAC performance and demonstrated stronger-than-expected structural capacity, enabling RCS to develop a targeted remediation strategy that retained the majority of the roof structure while maintaining full structural safety.

The project has since become a significant example of evidence-led RAAC remediation in practice.

Outcomes have included:

• Avoiding wholesale roof replacement
• Preserving a landmark civic and heritage building
• Supporting phased reoccupation of the facility
  
• Maintaining continuity of public services
• Reducing projected costs by millions of pounds
• Minimising material waste and embodied carbon

The knowledge generated through the project is now helping inform wider RAAC investigations and remediation strategies across the UK.

Driving a More Evidence-Led Approach to RAAC

The shortlistings reflect RCS’s continued commitment to combining technical expertise, research-led insight and specialist contractor delivery capability to solve some of the UK’s most complex structural challenges.

As the industry continues to navigate the long-term implications of RAAC across public and private sector estates, RCS is helping drive a more informed, proportionate and evidence-based approach to remediation.

The winners of the Construction News Specialists Awards 2026 will be announced later this year at the awards ceremony in London.

If you are responsible for buildings that may contain RAAC, or are exploring assessment and remediation options, RCS can support you with expert, evidence-led advice at every stage. Get in touch to speak with our team.